Hewson promises new jobs in Fort Worth

Following a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump today, Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson told reporters the company plans to add 1,800 employees in Fort Worth, TX.

"We had the opportunity to talk to him about the F-35 program, and I certainly share his views that we need to get the best capability to our men and women in uniform and we have to get it at the lowest possible price," Hewson said, according to a pool report. "So I'm glad I had the opportunity to tell him that we are close to a deal that will bring the cost down significantly from the previous lot of aircraft to the next lot of aircraft and, moreover, it's going to bring a lot of jobs to the United States."

Hewson said the 1,800 boost will generate additional ancillary jobs.

"When you think about the supply chain across 45 states in the U.S., it's going to be thousands and thousands of jobs," she added. "And I also had the opportunity to give him some ideas on things we think we can do to continue to drive the cost down on the F-35 program, so it was a great meeting."

Lockheed's F-35 has come under fire from Trump for being too expensive. Last month, Trump tweeted that "[b]ased on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!"

And this week, Trump vowed to get "costs way down" and to "have some competition."